ZT: what to do when kid starts to say bad words

zt from the book "what the other mothers know" by Michele Gendelman, Ilene Graff and Donna Rosenstein.

-when the kid use the bad words, tell them, those words are for adults and kid could not use them. yes, that is very unfair but that's just the way it is. it often helps to point out that mommy can't use certain words at certain times and places either.

-the book's authors do not think it's a circumstance when you could reason with the kid. warn the kid that if he use the word again, he lose a privilege, or a toy.

-sometimes, parents have to think what language do you want your kid to use when referring to his bodily part and functions. you could have some words to replace crude words like "fart". one of the mom use the word "zorch" to replace "fart" when her daughter started to make funny jokes about "fart" and it helps.

-another way of stopping both the parents and kid to use bad words is money pusnishment. althought it's agreed that parents shouldn't say bad words in the house or in front of the kid, but we all know that is virtually impossible. so, when a parent say a bad word, a $1 fine would be collected into a box. after $10 has accumulated, the kid could use it toward buying a book or toy he likes. and if the kid says a bad word, $0.50 would be collected from him. make him watch while you collect his money from his piggy bank, seeing the money dissappear into mother's wallet is a lot more sobering to a kid than being told after the fact. (i think this method is useful for older kids)